HUI K'O: THE SECOND PATRIARCH OF ZEN

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487–593

Hui-k'o, the Second Patriarch of Zen passed on the bowl and robe to his successor, the Third Patriarch, Seng-ts'an, signifying the Transmission of the Dharma. Hui-k'o, who had received the seal of approval from Bodhidharma himself, then went everywhere drinking and carousing around like a wildman and partaking in the offerings of the brothel districts. When people asked how he could do such a thing, being a Patriarch of the Zen school and all, he would respond with: "What business is it of yours?"

The
Second Patriarch, Hui K'o of the Northern Ch'i whose family name
was Chi, was formerly Shen Kuang. When he was born, his parents saw Wei T'ou
Bodhisattva, the golden armored spiritual being, come to offer protection; thereupon
they named their son "Shen Kuang" which means "spiritual light." Not only was
the Patriarch intelligent, but he had an excellent memory as well, and his skills
and powersof discrimination were so remarkable that he could read ten
lines in the time it took anordinaryperson to read one. In a
gathering of one hundred people, all talking at once, he could clearly distinguish
each conversation.

The
Great Master, however, had great anger; he disagreed with everyone and was ready
to fight. Later, in quest
of the Dharma, it was his great anger which enabled him to sit outside from Bodhidharma, cut off his arm and
feel no pain. It was also BECAUSE of his anger that he later felt pain. Unafflicted
by anger, he would have felt no pain. Pain is just an affliction and affliction
is the cause of pain.

The
Second Patriarch was forty years old when he left Bodhidharma. Having obtained
the Dharma, he went into hiding because Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master Kuang T'ung,
who had made six attempts on the life of Bodhidharma, also wished to kill his
disciples. So although Hui K'o had great anger, he nevertheless obeyed his teacher
and went into hiding for forty years. When he was eighty, he began to propagate
the Buddhadharma, teaching and transforming living beings.

Hui-k'o, who had received the seal of approval from Bodhidharma himself sometime after the above arm severing episode, eventually passed on the bowl and robe to his successor, the Third Patriarch, Seng-ts'an, signifying the Transmission of the Dharma. He then, as presented in the opening quote at the top of the page, went everywhere drinking and carousing around like a wildman and partaking in the offerings of the brothel districts. When people asked how he could do such a thing, being a Patriarch of the Zen school and all, he would respond with: "What business is it of yours?" (source)

Later, even though Hui K'o was into his eighties and had long passed on the Patriarchship,
the disciples of Bodhiruci and Vinaya Master T'ung Kuang searched him down and tried to kill him, who feigned insanity to lessen the jealousy of his rivals. But he never
ceased to save living beings who were ready to receive his teaching. Because
so many people continued to trust the Second Patriarch, Bodhiruci's disciples
were still jealous. They reported Hui K'o to the government, accusing him of
being a weird inhuman creature. "He confuses the people who follow him," they
charged; "he is not even human." The emperor ordered the district magistrate
to arrest him, and Hui K'o was locked up and questioned:

"Are
you human or are you a freak?" asked the Magistrate.

"I'm
a freak," replied master Hui K'o.

The
magistrate knew that the Patriarch was saying this to avoid jealousy, so he
ordered him to tell the truth. "Speak clearly," he demanded, "what are you?"

The
Great Master replied, "I'm a freak."

Governments
can't allow strange freaks to roam the earth, and so Hui K'o was sentenced to
die. Now, isn't that the way of the world?

The
Patriarch wept when he told his disciples, "I must undergo retribution." He
was a courageous man, certainly not one who would cry out of Fear of Death.
he was sad that the Dharma had not been widely understood during his lifetime.
"The Buddhadharma will not flourish until the time of the Fourth Patriarch,"
he announced, and then he faced the executioner.

"Come
and kill me he said!" he said. The executioner raised his axe and swung it towards
the master's neck. What do you think happened?

You
are probably thinking, "He was a patriarch with great spiritual power. certainly
the blade shattered and his neck was not even scratched." No. The axe cut off
his head, and it didn't grow back. However, instead of blood, a milky white
fluid flowed onto the chopping block.

You
think, "Now really,this is just too far out." If you believe it that is fine.
If you don't believe it that is fine too; just forget it. However, I will give
you a simple explanation of why blood did not flow from the Patriarch's neck:
When a sage enters the white

yangrealm his body becomes white because his body has completely transformed
into yang, leaving no trace of yin. "I don't believe it," you
say. Of course you don't. If you did, you would be just like the Second Patriarch.

You
think, "But you just said the Patriarch Hui K'o had great anger. How could he
have been without great ignorance?" You are certainly more clever than I, for
I did not think of this question. But now that you have brought it up, I will
answer it. His was not petty anger like yours and mine which explodes like firecrackers,
"Pop! Pop! Pop." His anger was wisdom and because of it his body became yang.
Great patience, great knowledge, great courage, great wisdom: That's what his
temper was made of.

Realizing
that Hui K'o was a Bodhisattva in the flesh, the Emperor felt great shame. "A
Bodhisattva came to our country," he said, "and instead of offering him protection,
we kill him." Then the Emperor had all the officials take refuge with this strange
Bhikshu. Thus, even though the Second Patriarch had already been executed, he
still excepted these disciples.

Fundamentally, our experience as experienced is not different from the Zen master's. Where we differ is that we place a fog, a particular kind of conceptual overlay onto that experience and then make an emotional investment in that overlay, taking it to be "real" in and of itself.